Life in the Spirit

Romans 8, starting from chapter 1.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, he condemns sin in the flesh,

in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,

who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,

but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law.

Indeed, it cannot.

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.

If in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you,

anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin,

the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies

through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Good morning.

Good morning.

We will mostly be focusing on Romans 8 verses 5 to 11,

Romans 8:5–11

but we will be starting with a slight recap, particularly looking at verse 4.

So if you have that passage open, Romans chapter 8, that would be fantastic.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for our freedom to gather this morning

to sing your praises, to bring our requests before you in prayer,

to hear your word read and to meditate on it together.

Please enable me to speak clearly and truthfully this morning

and may this passage of your word resonate in our hearts and encourage us.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, Australians cannot stand people who think they're better than everyone else.

We value having a highly egalitarian society.

Everyone gets an education.

Everyone has access to healthcare.

Everyone can vote.

We're all equal.

And when individuals succeed, whether it's in business, whether it's in politics or sport,

in whatever field it is, when individuals succeed,

we expect them to be humble in victory.

We despise arrogance and elitism.

We have what we call the tall poppy syndrome,

that if anyone kind of rises up a bit too high,

they're a bit too successful and especially if they let it get to their heads,

we want to cut them down.

Now, this love of equality and kind of opposition to anyone

who gets a bit too big for their own boots,

all of this, I want to suggest,

is part of Christianity's legacy on Australian society,

part of the legacy of Christianity's influence.

Australia owes its egalitarian impulse to Christianity

because the Bible contains incredible boundary-breaking declarations and ideas.

Famously, Galatians 3, verse 28,

Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek.

There is neither slave nor free.

There is no male and female,

for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Breaking down boundaries.

Matthew 23, verse 8, the words of Jesus,

Matthew 23:8

But you are not to be called rabbi,

for you have one teacher,

and you are all brothers.

There's one Lord,

one teacher, one Father,

and we're all brothers.

We're all the same.

Or think of Paul's appeal to Philemon

on behalf of his runaway slave,

Onesimus.

And Paul writes,

For perhaps this is why he was parted from you for a while,

that you might have him back forever,

no longer as a slave,

but as more than a slave,

as a beloved brother.

See, Christianity breaks down those boundaries,

and says we're all equal,

we're all on the same level before God.

And the Apostle Paul's great Christian manifesto,

his epistle to the Romans,

it also contains some boundary-breaking declarations.

From Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3 · chapter mention

I'll read a few verses from Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

What then?

Are Jews any better off?

Not at all.

For we've already charged that,

that all,

both Jews and Gentiles,

are under sin.

But there's no distinction,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and are justified by his grace as a gift,

through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus.

Then what becomes of boasting?

It's excluded.

For we hold that one is justified by faith,

apart from the works of the law,

or is God the God of the Jews only?

Is he not the God of the Gentiles also?

Yes, of Gentiles also,

since God is one who will circumcise the justified by faith,

I'm sorry,

who will justify the circumcised by faith,

who will justify the circumcised by faith,

and the uncircumcised through faith.

The Apostle Paul tore down the law of Moses

as a boundary separating Jew and Gentile

by demonstrating that no one's justified

by works of the law.

We're all in the same boat.

We're all sinners condemned by the law,

and yet justified freely by faith in Christ.

Now, against that backdrop,

I want to suggest that Romans 8 verse 4

Romans 8:4

comes as a great surprise.

Romans 8 verse 4 comes as a great surprise.

Romans 8:4

Both halves of the verse are surprising.

Let's look at this verse, Romans 8 verse 4.

Romans 8:4

In order that the righteous requirement of the law

might be fulfilled in us

who walk not according to the flesh,

but according to the spirit.

Both halves of this verse are surprising.

It's surprising that,

having stated so emphatically

that none of us are able to obey the law,

Paul now speaks of the righteous requirement

of the law being fulfilled in us.

Now, as I mentioned last week,

it's possible this statement is about imputed righteousness.

That is, it's possible this statement is about

how the law's demand for righteousness

is satisfied for us

by the perfect righteousness of Christ

being credited to our account.

Now, that is wonderful.

It's certainly true.

And it's a cause of great assurance.

But verse 4 is especially surprising

if, as I suggested last week,

what this statement might mean

that the righteous requirement of the law

is fulfilled in us

is that the law's overall purpose of love

comes to be expressed and fulfilled

in the lives of Christians.

How is it possible that people

who have once been condemned by the law

because of our sins

might now fulfil the law through love?

Isn't that claim hopelessly optimistic?

Well, Jesus didn't think so.

By this, all people will know

that you're my disciples, Jesus said,

if you have love for one another.

But that's surprising.

But the second half of the verse is surprising too

because in the second half of the verse 4,

having so emphatically broken down the law

as a boundary dividing Jew and Gentile

for all alike are under sin,

in the second half of verse 4,

another great division in humanity is established.

There are those who walk according to the flesh

and there are those who walk according to the spirit.

See, it turns out, in the Bible's view,

there is a great division in humanity.

But it's not the divide between Jew and Gentile.

It's not the divide between slave and free.

It's not between law and not law.

The division is between flesh and spirit.

And it's this division

which explains how it is

that the righteous requirement of the law

might be fulfilled in believers.

Verse 5 and 6.

In these verses, flesh and spirit represent two opposing dominions,

to realms, to powers, to spheres of influence,

to opposing dominions,

someone can walk according to the flesh

and be according to the flesh

or they can walk and be according to the spirit.

Every one of us belongs to one or other of those dominions.

We either belong to the flesh or we belong to the spirit.

One or the other is the sphere

in which we exist and operate.

One or the other is the power which defines our lives.

Now, incidentally, this is an aside here,

the word spirit occurs 17 times in Romans,

the first 17 verses of Romans 8,

Romans 8:1–7

verses 1 to 7.

It's 17 times,

which makes it not just the greatest concentration

of spirit language in Romans,

it's the greatest concentration of spirit language

anywhere in the Bible.

What we have here is a passage that is describing to us,

teaching us about life in the spirit.

And each dominion, flesh and spirit,

has its own mindset.

There is a mind set on the things of the flesh

and there is the mind set on things of the spirit.

And those two mindsets are completely different.

Let me suggest three differences.

First difference,

the mind set on the flesh is earthbound,

whereas the mind set on the spirit is heavenly,

transcendent.

The mind of the flesh is occupied with things here below

and either denies or at least disregards heaven above.

You found the mind set of the flesh

whenever you find someone who is consumed by money.

They live for,

they pursue,

what they want is possessions and money and wealth.

I was running with a friend,

I just met the friend,

a Christian brother,

he was,

he is,

and he was talking about someone in his family

who just spends most of his day just examining,

just watching his share portfolio.

That's what's on his mind all the time,

money.

You found the mind set of the flesh

when you find someone consumed by their career.

All they think about is how they can advance

and that getting to the next step in their profession.

Or someone consumed by entertainment,

they just think about the movies or the music

or the video games or whatever it is

that just occupies their thoughts constantly.

Or by pleasure or by body image or by reputation,

whatever it is.

When it's just their thoughts,

their thinking,

their preoccupation

is with

things of earth below.

Now,

God created all things good.

Everything that God has made in this world is good

and to be received with thanksgiving.

But he created everything good so that we might lift our eyes

from the gifts while enjoying the gifts he's given

to the giver,

the God himself who has given them.

Not so that we'd enjoy the gift and ignore the giver.

One of the sports I've enjoyed is playing ultimate frisbee.

And I love playing frisbee.

If you don't know the sports,

it's a lot of running, a lot of jumping,

throwing a frisbee around,

trying to catch it and pass it between your teammates.

An energetic sport.

And I've had opportunity to sort of play in clubs and so on

with some of the players in Newcastle

who are like the top players in Newcastle.

Some of them have played for Australia and so on.

And I mean,

there are people who live for ultimate frisbee.

You know,

that's what their life's about.

And that's all their ambitions,

all their goals revolve around that sport.

It's not even in the Olympics.

Right?

You know,

I mean,

maybe there's a few American players that earn a living,

get sponsorship off it,

but you're not going to do that in Australia.

And yet that's what their life's for.

That's the mind of the flesh.

It's just fixed on something,

whatever it is here below.

With no regard for God above.

Second difference,

that the mindset of the flesh,

likewise the gaze of the flesh,

is fixed here and now.

It never looks forward.

Just the present,

never the future,

or never the eternal future,

in any case.

The mind of the flesh forgets

that there is a day of judgment.

That people will render account,

will give an account,

for the lives we've lived here.

The mind of the flesh forgets

that there's a resurrection,

that there is a life beyond the grave.

The mind of the flesh forgets

that there is a coming kingdom of God.

No,

the way things are now,

in the mind of the flesh,

is the way things will always be.

Temporary,

rather than eternal.

That's the second difference.

The third difference is that the mind of the flesh,

there's a difference of character.

A difference of character.

Paul writes in Galatians that the fruit of the spirit is love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

self-control.

Whereas the flesh,

well, the flesh is filled with anger,

jealousy,

impurity,

greed,

malice,

hatred,

selfish ambition.

There's a difference in character between flesh and spirit.

The example from the previous chapter of the flesh,

of the sin operating in our lives is coveting.

You might remember Paul talked about when,

as soon as he hears the law,

you shall not covet.

Sin arouses all kinds of covetous desires within him.

There's a difference of character.

So there's a different mind.

Each of these dominions,

spirit and flesh,

has a different mind.

And each also has its own destiny.

You'll see there in verse 6,

to set the mind on the flesh is death.

That's the destiny of the flesh,

death.

But to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.

There's the destiny of those who are in the spirit.

Life and peace.

Peace with God, that is.

So two dominions,

two minds,

two destinies.

And in verses 7 and 8,

Paul goes on to unpack a bit more

the mind of the flesh,

what it's like to live under the power of the flesh.

Verse 7,

for the mind that's set on the flesh is hostile to God,

for it does not submit to God's law.

Indeed,

it cannot.

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The mind of the flesh is in enmity to God.

This is the opposite of the peace of the mind of the spirit there in verse 6.

Here there's enmity,

there's hostility.

And these verses 7 and 8 unpack that enmity,

which is the reason that there's death.

Hostility towards God.

Not only this refusal to submit to God's law,

but an inability to submit to God's law.

I hate God,

and I disregard God.

They're equally expressions of the flesh.

They're equally hostility towards God.

God,

God,

it's just,

God,

I won't submit to you.

I won't listen to you.

I don't care for what you want.

Those who are in the flesh,

verse 8,

cannot please God.

Now that sounds extreme,

doesn't it?

Someone who's in the flesh

can't please God.

Few people would think of themselves in these kind of terms.

This isn't how people think about themselves.

But that's because people have so thoroughly expunged the idea of God from their thoughts

that they don't think there's any need to please God.

They imagine they can live lives that are good without God.

But that's madness.

People who live according to the flesh,

who are just bound by the things of this world,

and of the present,

and of the attitudes and desires of the flesh,

people who live that way,

they may go on to do all sorts of impressive and noteworthy things.

But a car's not a good car

if it doesn't go where the driver steers it.

And a dog's not a good pet if it bites its master

and doesn't come when called and go when sent.

And humans aren't good humans when we ignore our creator.

Without faith, it's impossible to please God.

And that's the mind of the flesh.

Hostility to God.

Disregarding God.

But then Paul says,

in verse 9,

you, however,

you, however, are not in the flesh,

but in the spirit.

If, in fact,

the spirit of God dwells in you.

Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ

does not belong to him.

Let's unpack this a little bit.

You, however,

Paul is convinced that those he's writing to

are not in the flesh,

but in the spirit.

He makes a contrast here.

You, however,

are not in the flesh,

but in the spirit.

You don't belong to the dominion of the flesh.

You belong to the dominion of the spirit.

The power of the flesh does not dominate your life.

Rather,

you are controlled and governed and ruled

by the power of God's spirit.

You, however,

are not in the flesh,

but in the spirit,

if, in fact,

the spirit of God dwells in you.

Now,

that sounds a bit uncertain in our ears

as we read it.

No,

like Paul's saying,

well,

you belong with the spirit.

If the spirit dwells in you.

You know,

maybe the spirit dwells in you.

Maybe the spirit doesn't dwell in you.

But I don't think it's supposed to sound uncertain,

actually.

I don't think it's supposed to sound uncertain here.

The word,

the Greek word that's translated as,

if,

in fact,

it can also be translated as,

since,

which is exactly how ESV translates it

in Romans 3,

Romans 3:30

verse 30,

which I read a little bit earlier.

There it is.

Yes,

God is the God of the Gentiles,

also,

since God is one.

You know,

there are points being made.

God's not just the God of the Jews.

He's the God of Jews and Gentiles.

He's the God of all people.

Because God's one,

there's one God.

They're the same word as translated as since.

And I think it's got that sense here too.

You know,

it's sort of context

that determines

whether we should translate this word

as if indeed,

or since indeed.

And one thing you notice here

is that when Paul switches,

like from verse 8 to verse 9,

he switches from speaking in the third person

to the second person.

So verses 5 and 6,

he sets up the two categories,

flesh and spirit.

Verses 7 and 8,

he then elaborates on the flesh

in the third person,

that is speaking about they,

them,

those people

who are in the flesh.

But then verses 9 to 11,

as he elaborates on the spirit,

he switches to the second person,

you.

He speaks about those

who are in the flesh,

but you who are in the spirit.

So Paul,

as he's addressing the Roman Christians

to whom he's writing,

he's not trying to make them

kind of wonder

whether they might be in the spirit.

He is assuring them

that they are in the spirit.

Since the spirit of God dwells in you,

Paul says.

And he reinforces that assurance

with the negative

at the end of verse 8,

anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ

does not belong to Christ.

To put that around the other way,

if you do belong to Christ,

then you do have the spirit of Christ.

If anyone who doesn't have the spirit

doesn't belong to Christ,

then if you do belong to Christ,

you must have the spirit.

It's impossible to belong to Christ

and not have the spirit dwelling in you.

There are no spiritless Christians.

If you have Jesus,

you have God's spirit.

It's both or nothing.

Or rather,

it's all three persons of the Trinity

or nothing.

For in verse 9,

he's both the spirit of Christ

and the spirit of God.

To have the spirit

is to be united

with the Father and the Son.

And Paul reassures

the Roman Christians here

of their present union

with God's spirit.

That God's spirit

indwells in them.

And notice how he convinces them.

He doesn't call on them

to analyse their performance.

He doesn't tell them

to conduct an experiment.

He doesn't say,

you have the spirit in you

if you can speak in tongues.

He doesn't say,

you have the spirit in you

if you've attained

a certain level of holiness

or godliness.

The thrust of verses 9 to 10

is if you have Christ,

you have the spirit.

The spirit is the present possession

of every single Christian.

Now you might feel yourself

to be unspiritual.

You might think

there's nothing special

about you.

You might feel like

sin has the upper hand

in your life.

But God doesn't justify you

on the basis

of your own goodness.

God doesn't justify you

on the basis

of your moral achievement.

and neither does

God's spirit

indwell you

on the basis

of your goodness.

The spirit comes to us

as Christ comes to us

on the basis

of God's abundant grace

and infinite mercy.

So brothers,

sisters,

you don't need to worry

that you haven't received

God's spirit.

Receiving God's spirit

isn't a separate,

additional step

after receiving Christ.

We received Christ,

the spirit,

when we received Christ.

If you belong to Christ,

if you believe in Jesus,

if you're one of Jesus' followers,

you have God's spirit

dwelling in you.

And verses 10 and 11

go on to two

inestimable benefits

of being indwelt

by God's spirit.

first,

Paul speaks of present

spiritual life

in verse 10.

But if Christ

is in you,

although the body

is dead

because of sin,

the spirit

is life

because of righteousness.

Now,

I enjoy

frisbee,

I enjoy running,

I've mentioned both

already.

I try to keep myself

in pretty decent

physical condition,

but the clock

keeps ticking.

I remember

as a,

I think it was like

as a late teenager

sitting down

with my godfather

and I was a young man

and I was a bit aimless

in life

and I remember him

asking me like,

what was my goal

in life?

Like,

what did I want

to achieve?

And the only thing

I came up with

that I wanted

to run 800 metres

faster than two minutes.

Like,

now,

running 800 metres,

let me just be clear,

faster than two minutes,

yeah,

that'd be pretty quick,

but that's not even

going to get you

into the Olympics,

right?

It's not that quick.

But that was my goal,

right?

That's all I could

come up with

at that point in time.

And,

it's a pretty pathetic goal

and,

you know,

I'm happy to say

I've discovered

some better goals since.

You know,

but still,

I would kind of like

to run 800 metres

that fast

and yet it's not

going to happen,

right?

I've missed my opportunity

and it's not just

because I've got

other priorities in life,

it's also just because

I keep getting older.

It's just the effects

of age setting in.

First,

it was my knees

and then it was

my hamstrings

and then it's

my Achilles

and what's going

to be next?

I don't know

what's going

to be next,

but,

you know,

I've reached the age

that whenever I

book an appointment

to see my GP,

I make sure I book

a double appointment

because I've never

got just one thing

I need to talk about.

But still,

like,

I'm only 47,

right?

And,

I'm healthy

and God willing,

I have many more years

of decline ahead of me.

but,

you know,

even though my body

is dead

or dying,

right,

you know,

whichever word

you want to use,

there is dwelling

in me

the Spirit

who gives life.

The Spirit

who gives life.

As Paul says

elsewhere,

outwardly we're

wasting away,

but inwardly

we're being

renewed

day by day.

And this means,

verse 10 means here,

that the 95-year-old

invalid

who is

bed-bound

in a nursing home

but has the

Spirit of God

dwelling in them,

that person

has more life

than the 23-year-old

Olympia.

the Spirit

who gives life

is dwelling

in them.

Present

spiritual life

is the first

benefit

of the Spirit.

The second benefit

is in verse 11,

verse 10 speaks

of present

spiritual life,

verse 11 speaks

of future

bodily life.

Verse 11,

if the Spirit

of Him

who raised

Jesus from the dead

dwells in you,

He who raised

Christ Jesus

from the dead

will also

give life

to your

mortal bodies

through His

Spirit

who dwells

in you.

Now just notice

how beautifully

Trinitarian

this verse is.

We see twice

right there

in this verse

we have

the Father,

the Spirit

and the Son.

The Spirit

of Him

who raised

Jesus,

the Father

who raised

Jesus,

Jesus the Son

from the dead

the Trinity

and then we

get it again.

He who raised

Christ as the

Father who raised

the Son

from the dead

will give life

to your mortal

bodies

through His

Spirit

who dwells

in you.

This is the

Trinity again.

The Father,

the Spirit

and the Son

working together

to do what?

With what goal?

With what effect?

With what outcome?

To give life

to your mortal

bodies.

Paul is

speaking of

the future

bodily

resurrection

of beliefs.

Bodily

resurrection.

The resurrection

of Jesus

from the dead,

bodily from the

grave,

that's the

pattern for

us,

the pattern

for our

future.

He's the

first fruits,

where the

harvest that

is to come.

What God

has already

done in the

case of

Jesus,

He will

do in the

case of

everyone who

belongs to

Jesus,

through His

Spirit who

dwells in.

So if you

have God's

Spirit in

you,

and you

have God's

Spirit if

you believe

in Jesus,

then as

your body

fails and

wastes away,

what a hope

we have

that God

will restore,

God will

raise up,

God will

bring life.

Everything

God's created

is good and

that includes

our bodies.

and it's

not God's

will that

our bodies

should rot

in the

ground and

just our

spirits depart

to heaven and

that's our

eternal future,

but rather that

spirit and body

be reunited and

He raise us up

in perishable

and in glory

as Jesus has

been raised.

Future bodily

life,

life now

in God's

Spirit and

a future where

even our bodies,

though they perish

and die,

will be raised

from the dead.

Why is it

that we have,

I mean we've

seen two

dominions,

two minds,

two destinies,

why is it

that we have

a different

destiny?

Because we

have a different

dominion,

because it

is the

Spirit dwelling

in us

who determines,

by God,

who determines

our future.

And why is it

that the

righteous

requirement of

the law

might be

fulfilled in

us?

Because we

live under a

different dominion.

We have the

mind of God's

Spirit dwelling

in us,

a mind that

is life and

peace,

a mind of

God's Spirit

dwelling in us,

enabling the

renewing of

our minds,

which Paul will

speak of in

Romans 12.

Don't be

conformed to

this world,

but be

transformed by

the renewal

of your

mind,

that you

may discern

what is the

will of

God,

what is good

and acceptable

and perfect.

Now if you

feel,

if you feel

yourself trapped

in patterns of

thought that

belong not to

the Spirit but

to the flesh,

feel trapped

in those patterns.

I want you

to know,

God wants us

to know,

there is hope,

there is

freedom.

If you're

a greedy

person and

you find

yourself just

always wanting

more for

yourself,

you don't

need to be

that.

you don't

have to keep

living that

way.

You can

let it

go.

God's

Spirit dwells

in you and

he desires

something else.

If you're an

angry person,

if you're,

you know,

you're just,

there's a,

there's an

anger in you

that's just

always there

sort of below

the surface,

seething away.

every now

and then

it erupts.

You don't

need to hold

on to that,

whatever it

is that's

causing that

anger.

You can

let it

go.

Those

things,

greed,

anger,

impurity,

whatever the

pattern of

thought is

that you're

stuck in,

it belongs

to the

flesh.

But you,

you belong

to the

Spirit.

You belong

to the

Spirit.

So,

live

in the

freedom

of the

Spirit of

God.

Let's

pray.

Heavenly

Father,

we thank

you that

when we

believe and

when we

have

believed in

your

Son,

Jesus,

you've

not only

forgiven

us all

our sins

and justified

us,

counted us

as righteous,

but you've

come to

live in

us in

the person

of your

Spirit.

You've

united us

with

yourself,

with your

Son.

Thank you

for your

Spirit

already

dwelling

in us

and with

us,

filling

us with

spiritual

life.

Thank you

for the

mind of

the

Spirit

dwelling

in us,

that he

can

transform

our

minds.

Thank you

that you,

by your

Spirit,

can free

us from

every

pattern of

thought and

behaviour that

belongs to

the flesh.

so please

Lord God,

continue that

good work

in us.

Change

our minds,

transform

us so

that we

might

desire

what

brings you

delight.

Assure it

wholeheartedly.

In Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.